Friday, September 19, 2014

Naked Vine One-Hitter – Up on the Rúfina

Good ol’ Chianti. You’ve got
$15 in your pocket and you’re looking for a good table wine to go with a nice
dinner you’re planning – and you know you can amble through la sezione italiana and come up with a
decent bottle. If you’ve got a little more scratch to spend, though -- Chianti
doesn’t stop with plain old table wine.

Thanks to Juliana at Colangelo
PR, the wine fairy dropped off a bottle of Frescobaldi Nipozzano Vecchie
Viti 2011 Chianti Rúfina, which
was just released in the U.S. and is one of my first experiences in the deeper
end of the Tuscan wine pool.

As I’vecoveredbefore, Chianti
is not a grape. Italian wines are usually named for the region from
which the grapes are grown. Chianti is a large region in central Tuscany which
encompasses parts of several Tuscan sub-provinces. A wine simply labeled
“Chianti” can be made from grapes harvested anywhere in this region. Speaking
of those grapes, at least 70% of the wine must be made from Sangiovese to fall
into the Chianti category. The balance of the wine is usually a blend of other
Italian indigenous varietals, along with the occasional addition of Cabernet
Sauvignon or Merlot. Chianti tend to be relatively lighter-bodied, full of
cherry and raspberry fruit flavors, and with a mineral character that feels a
little “chalky” to me.

You might see “Chianti Classico” on a bottle if you’re looking. “Classico” has
nothing to do with being a “classic” wine. The term refers to the area in the
heart of the Chianti region bordered by Florence on the north and Siena on the
south. This was the “original” area of Chianti which produces arguably some of
the best wine. Chianti Classico must be a minimum of 80% Sangiovese. The
complement of Chianti Classico is “Chianti Superiore,” which is wine made from
grapes sourced from anywhere in Chianti other than the Classico region.

Chianti. Know it. Love it. Live it.

However, there are a few areas
outside the Classico region known for making excellent Chianti. In some cases,
some of the best. One of those areas is Rúfina – a small area that juts north
from Classico into the province surrounding Florence. Rúfina, home to some of
the highest-altitude vineyards in Tuscany, is one of the eight sub-zones of the
Chianti region which is, like Classico, allowed to affix its name to a wine
label as a quality designation.

Because of its altitude,
Rúfina has a cooler climate than much of the surrounding area. In my
experience, cool climate wines have more complexity and are less fruit-forward
than wines made in higher temperature growing regions. If you’ve been keeping
up with my recent travels, you know I’m a big fan of cooler weather wines – but
most of my knowledge in that area comes from domestically produced grapes. I
was curious how this translated to Italian wines.

I can report with confidence that
I’m a fan of Rúfina’s cool-climate Chianti. The Nipozzano Vecchie Viti I
sampled is made from the oldest vineyards surrounding the Nipozzano Castle in
the heart of the Chianti Rufina wine-growing areas. These vineyards are around 1000
feet above sea level, where most vineyards in Chianti average around 600 feet.

Chianti’s never struck me as a
particularly fragrant wine, but the Vecchie Viti displayed a difference almost
immediately. Although light, the nose smells like strawberry ice cream if it
could sprout blossoms. It’s quite pretty. The flavor is medium-bodied with some
of the typical Chianti flavors – cherry, cola, coffee, and chalk – and they’re
exceptionally well integrated. This harmony continues through the finish,
rather than the mouth-puckering acidity and chalky aftertaste of many Chianti. I’ve
never considered Chianti a wine that I’d just open and drink on its own – it
usually needs food to shine – but this one was very pleasant.

Just the same, Chianti is best
known as a food wine. While any night can be a special occasion, the quality
and subtlety of this wine would be best with a meal into which you’re trying to
introduce some atmosphere. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I decided to try this
wine alongside one of her famous homemade pizzas (roasted tomatoes, roast
chicken, capers, garlic). Just as an experiment, we also opened a bottle of perfectly
decent table wine –the Zonin 2012
Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo – which retails for $12 for a 1.5 liter. The
difference in flavors, as the SPinC put it so eloquently, was “like the
difference between a Vera Wang gown and a Nordstrom’s knockoff.”

That said, it was the end of a
long week – and we were enjoying this pizza while spawled on the couch. While
the Rúfina was excellent, the setting really didn’t do the best job of
highlighting how good the wine actually was.

I’d recommend opening it for a
sit down meal you’ve constructed to engage your senses. I see low light, some
music in the background, a little romance in the air, and an Italian meal that’s
got red sauce in it somewhere. This is a wine for a “special occasion” alongside
someone you’re trying to impress – whether you’ve been with the person for
weeks or decades. It’s going to improve whatever you might have on the table.
Whether you end up on the table with
your intended is an exercise left to the reader.

The Nipozzano Vecchie Viti
retails for right around $30, along the lines of what you’d pay for a really
good pinot noir. If you’re thinking in those terms, it’s a good value. Spend
the few extra shekels to give this one a try.

About Me

Sommelier for the Common Man. The Man who Cooks. A regular guy with
fifteen bucks worth of savoir faire and a nose for tasty food and wine.
Learn about wine at The Naked Vine. Follow my culinary adventures at The Man Who Cooks. Email me at thenakedvine @ gmail.com